Internal combustion engine



Oct. 9, 1934. Q c EIS 1,975,956

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Sept. 22. 1952 WZ g 73 g 0 O O O O O o O 92 O IINVEIYTOR.

E a t-exited (Dot. 9, 1934 UNITED STATES- INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Oscar C. Kreis, South Bend, Ind., assignor to The Studebaker Corporation, South Bend, Ind., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 22, 1932, Serial No. 634,286

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in cylinder heads for internal combustion engines, and has for its principal object the provision of a cylinder head in which the efiect of the cooling water in carrying away the heat of combustion in the engine cylinders is greatly improved and in which areas of intense heat, as around the spark plugs and over the exhaust valves, are effectively eliminated.

A further object lies in the provision of a cylinder head for an internal combustion engine including a baffle for directing the flow of cooling water toward certain vital areas of the cylinder heads.

A still further object lies in the provision of a cylinder head which may be so formed that its heat conducting thickness is substantially uniform, thereby providing for more uniform cooling of the entire area of the cylinder head.

It is also an object to provide a cylinder head of the character described which is simple and rugged in construction and which is economical to manufacture and install.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

The accompanying drawing in which like reference numerals are used to designate similar parts throughout, shows a preferred mechanical embodiment of the idea of the invention. The

drawing, however, is not to be taken as limiting the invention, the scope of which is to be measured entirely by the scope of the sub-joined claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical elevational view of a fragmentary portion of an internal combustion engine such as is used in automobiles, showing a cylin:

der head constructed according to the idea of this invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a horizontal, sectional and plan 49 view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a baiiie used in a cylinder head constructed according to the idea of this invention, and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing a somewhat modified form of the device.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral 10 generally indicates the'cylinder block 59 of an internal combustion engine upon which is mounted a cylinder head generally indicated at" 12, a gasket 14 being interposed between thetop surface of the cylinder block and the lower surface of the cylinder head. The. cylinder head is secured upon the cylinder block by means of holddown bolts 15 which pass through apertures in the cylinder head and into screw-threaded apertures provided in the cylinder block. The cylinder head carries a plurality of spark plugs 17 and is provided with a tapered water channel 20 provided near the forward end thereof with an aperture 21 to which is secured a hose connection 23. A hose 25 connected to the hose connection 23 leads to the upper tank of a cooling radiator 26.

Referring to Figure 3, it will be observed that my improved cylinder head is made in two parts as indicated at 30 and 32 and that a bafile 34 is included between the lower portion 30 and the upper portion 32. A gasket 35 is also interposed between the upper and lower portions of my improved cylinder head surrounding the baflle 34.

1 The lower portion 30 of my improved cylinder head may be most suitably formed by means of die casting or some similar process which will give a smooth uniform thickness to the heat conducting walls of this portion and also eliminate to a large extent the necessity of machining the casting in order to produce the finished device. From an inspection of Figures 2 and 3, it will be observed that the portion 30 of my improved cylinder head comprises a flat portion 42 entirely surrounded by an upstanding flange 44 and aligned firing chambers 45 extending upwardly from the flat portion 42. Each firing chamber is provided at the top center thereof with a screw-threaded aperture 47 adapted to receive the screw-threaded lower end of a spark plug 17. At spaced intervals around the surrounding flange, tubular walls 49 are provided surrounding the apertures through which pass the hold-down bolts 15. A 9. series of such tubular walls is also provided along the center line of the casting, the centrally located walls and enclosed apertures being located each between two adjacent firing chambers 45. Each of the tubular walls along the flange is provided at the top thereof with a laterally extending flange 50 as illustrated in Figure 3 having a flat upper surface. The flanges 44 are also provided interiorly thereof with inwardly extending lugs 52, each lug being provided with a screw- 106 threaded aperture,.53 which receives a screw 55 which passes through an aperture 57 in the battle 34 to rigidly secure the battle to the lower portion 30 of my improved cylinder head. At spaced intervals in the flat portion 42 of the lower portion of my improvedcylinder- -head' and adjacent to the flanges 44 I provide apertures 58 in the form of elongated slots which communicate with ports 59 in the cylinder block as illustrated in Figure 3 to provide for the circulation of cooling water no two portions of the cylinder head are placed together. The tapering water channel 20 and the water outlet aperture 21 are also located in the upper portion 32 of my improved cylinder head, the water channel extending parallel to the series of depressions 64.

This upper portion 32 is provided with tubular walls 66 at spaced intervals along the flanges 62 surrounding the apertures for the hold-down bolts 15 and with centrally located tubular walls, not illustrated. Each of the tubular walls 66 is provided at the bottom thereof with a laterally extending flange 68 having a fiat bottom surface which cooperates with the flat upper surfaces of the flanges 50 to provide a strong support between the upper and lower portions of my improved cylinder head and to securely clamp the gasket 35 therebetween.

The upper surface of each of the firing chambers 45 is provided with a flat annular surface 69 surrounding the spark plug aperture 47 and the bottom of each depression 64 is formed as a flat annular surface 70 corresponding with the surface 69, a gasket '71 being included between each pair of corresponding surfaces 69 and 70, as illustrated in Figure 3.

From an inspection of Figure 4, it will be observed that beside the apertures 5'7, the baiiie 34 is provided with apertures 72 and cut-out portions 73 to permit passing of the hold-down bolts 15 therethrough, and with a series of spaced longitudinally arranged apertures 74. From an inspection of Figure 3, it will be observed that each of the apertures 74 surrounds the lower portion of one of the depressions 64 and the upper portion of the corresponding chamber 45, and the spark plug aperture 47, and that the edges of the apertures '74 are annularly spaced from the adjacent walls of the depressions and corresponding combustion chambers, and that a funnel-shaped flange 75 surrounds each aperture '74, the top area of the flange being somewhat less than the bottom area thereof.

From an inspection of Figure 2, it will be observed that the flange 44 on the lower portion of my improved cylinder head or a portion thereof may be braced by integrally cast ribs '77. In the form of the device illustrated, these ribs extend from the tubular walls 49 along one side portion of the flange 44, to the corners of the adjacent combustion chambers 45. In this particular form of the device it will be observed that the ribs '77 are positioned above the cylinders of the internal combustion engine and serve to facilitate the transfer of heat from the area immediately above the cylinder to the cooling water by which the ribs are surrounded.

As illustrated in Figure 3 the combustion chambers 45 are of the Ricardo type having a flat portion extending over a portion of the top area of the engine pistons 82 and a raised portion extending over the valves 84, the spark plugs 17 being so located in the raised portion of the combustion chamber as to bring the lower ends of the spark plugs substantially over the intake valves included within the area of the combustion chambers. This invention, however, is not limited to any specific form of combustion chamber and it is to be understood that changes in the shape and size of the combustion chamber may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the sub-joined claims.

The operation of the device is as follows: Cooling water is forced through the ports 59 by the water circulating system of the engine upon which my improved cylinder head is mounted and through the apertures 58 into the space between the bafile 34 and the upper surface of the lower portion 30 of my improved cylinder head. When mounted in position in the cylinder head as described above, the baflie 34 forms a continuous partition between the upper and lower portions of the cylinder head except for the annular space between the flange 75 and the adjacent wall of the depression 64 in the upper portion of the cylinder head. As the water outlet channel 20 is formed in the upper portion of the two part cylinder head described in this application, in order for the water to flow from the space between the baffle and the lower portion of the cylinder head, it must flow through the annular spaces between the flanges 75 and the adjacent walls of the depressions 64 into ,the space between the upper portion of the cylinder head and the battle. This action causes the water to flow along the upper surface of the combustion chambers and along those portions of the cylinder head in which the spark plugs 17 are mounted, thereby greatly increasing the .cooling effect of the water upon the combustion chamber and the area immediately surrounding the spark plugs, thereby preventing undue heating of the upper portions of the combustion chambers and the spark plugs. The construction of my improved cylinder head also insures that the cooling water will flow over the vital portions of the cylinder head to reduce the heat thereof even though the level of the water in the radiator should be lowered by leakage or evaporation.

A further advantage of a cylinder head constructed according to the idea of this invention accrues from the fact that in the space between the battle and the lower portion of the cylinder head, the water flows in at spaced points adjacent to the outer edges of the cylinder head and flows out at spaced points adjacent to the center of the cylinder head, thereby setting up definite currents which effectively prevent any portions of the body of cooling water included in the space from being pocketed or stagnated with a consequent increase in temperature to the evaporation point. A cylinder head constructed according to the idea of this invention will therefore materially decrease the evaporative effect of the engine heat upon the cooling water.

According to the modified form of the device as illustrated in Figure 5, instead of the baffle 34 and the separate gasket 35 I mayuse a unitary structure 90 formed as a gasket. This gasket 90 may be a thin sheet of steel having layers of compressible material such as asbestos, secured upon 'each side thereof, or may be a fibre gasket or The gasket is further provided with spaced apertures 93 for the spark plugs 1'7 and elongated apertures 95 disposed around the aperture 93 and equally spaced therefrom. The outer portion of the gasket member 90 extending between the apertures 92 is adapted to provide a water-tight seal between the upper part 32 and the lower part 30 of the two-part cylinder head and the portion of the gasket member as indicated at 96 between the spark plug apertures 93 and the slots 95 is adapted to provide a water-tight seal between each annular surface 69 and its corresponding annular surface in the upper portion of the cylinder head. In the modified form of the invention, the cooling fiuid flows from the lower portion to the upper portion of the two- .part head through the elongated apertures 95 and the portions extending between these elongated apertures and joining the portions 96 with the main body portion of the gasket member serve to prevent movement or vibration of that portion of the gasket member adjacent to the slots and also facilitate the assembling of the device by maintaining the entire gasket member in a single piece. Otherwise the operation of the modified form of the device is the same as the operation of the preferred form as described above.

While I have illustrated and described a specific mechanical embodiment of the idea of this invention, it is to be understood that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the sub-joined claims.

Having now described my invention so that others skilled in the art may clearly understand the same, what I desire to secure by Letters Patout is as follows: I

i. A cylinder head for an internal combustion engine comprising, a two-part hollow casting having an upper part and a lower part secured together and sealed against leakage of cooling me dium containing a chamber through which .a cooling medium may be caused to flow, and an apertured flow-directing baflle in said chamber secured between said upper part and said lower part, provided with apertures surrounding the spark plug apertures and annularly spaced therefrom for directing the cooling medium toward the spark plug apertures.

2. A cylinder head for an internal combustion engine comprising, a hollow casting consisting .of an upper part and a lower part secured together and containing a chamber through which a cooling medium may be caused to flow and spark plug apertures, cooling medium inlet ports in said lower part, a cooling medium outlet portion in said upper part, and a flow-directing battle in said chamber secured between said upper and said lower part for directing the cooling medium around said spark plug apertures.

3. A cylinder head for an internal combustion engine comprising, a hollow casting consisting of an upper part and a lower part, said upper and lower parts containing therebetween a chamber through which a cooling medium may be caused to flow, cooling medium inlet ports at the sides of said lower part, a cooling medium outlet portion in said upper part, and a centrally apertured baffle in said chamber secured between said upper part and said lower part for directing the flow of cooling mediurnfrom the sides of said lower part toward the center thereof.

4. A cylinder head for an internal combustion engine comprising, a lower part and an upper part including therebetween a chamber through which a cooling medium may be caused to flow, firing chambers in said lower part, bosses on said firing chambers provided with screw-threaded apertures in which spark plugs may be mounted, spaceddepressions in'said upper part uniting with said bosses toprovide leak-proof'spark plug apscrew-threaded spark plug apertures, depressions in said upper part uniting with said bosses toprovide leak-proof spark plug apertures, a flow-directing bafiie in said chamber secured between said upper and lower parts and provided with apertures surrounding said depressions and annularly spaced therefrom, and funnel-shaped flanges formed on said bafile surrounding each aperture therein;

6. A cylinder head for an internal combustion engine comprising, a lower part and an upper part, bosses on said lower part provided with screw-threadedspark plug apertures, depressions in said upperpartmating with said bosses, and an aperturedflow-directing baffle in said chamber provided with ports surrounding said spark plug apertures for directing the cooling medium toward said apertures, said baffle being secured between said upper and lower parts and between said bosses and depressions.

- OSCAR C. KREIS. 

